An overly sweet drink is one of my least favorite things (unless it's a chocolate milkshake). I would rather have tart or bitter at the forefront of a cocktail than sickeningly sweet. But the great thing about this cocktail (or in this case "mocktail") creation is that you can cater everything to your own taste! Add more or less simple syrup, or more bubbly delicious ginger beer to round things out. It really is a choose your own adventure.

This cocktail with Sprouts Ginger Beer brings to mind summer vibes—a great departure from the flavors that laden your winter table. The low amount of syrup in this recipe lends itself to being on the tart side, but if you want to sweeten it up, just add more basil syrup, like I mentioned above. You can batch this easily by combining in a large glass or pitcher and then pouring into your prepared serving glasses.

Raspberry Basil Fizz Mocktail With Sprouts Ginger Beer

This can easily be made alcoholic by adding 1.5oz of Vodka per drink.

Basil Simple Syrup

¾ cp. Sugar1 cp. Water12 Leaves of Basil plus more for garnish

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Combine sugar, water and basil in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar has dissolved and the leaves are wilted and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool completely. This is best done the day before so the basil flavor infuses the syrup overnight in the fridge.

Raspberry Juice

1 heaping cp fresh raspberries + more for garnish2 tsp water

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Combine a heaping cup of raspberries plus 2 tsp water in a blender or food processor. Puree completely and strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove all of the seeds. This should yield about 2 ounces of juice, enough for 4 mocktails.